


The Mysterious Stranger

by erikahk



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Drama, Future Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erikahk/pseuds/erikahk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Memories from the old days when the Wraith still existed and culled hundreds of planets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mysterious Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Dressed to the Nines challenge at picfor1000 (LJ) and the Big Bang Challenge at stargateland (LJ). Inspiring pic found [here](http://bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=3207956514)

Milla smiled slightly as she lit the last candle then turned around to absorb the faint glow that they emitted. She sniffed the flowery air, making sure she hadn't mixed scents again. 

"Grandma, please tell us a story!"

Milla looked down at little Elro. Her smile grew. 

"Very well. What about a story from the old world?" 

Elro bounced in his heels and was soon joined by an equally excited Maira. She quickly composed herself, trying to turn serious.

"Yes, grandma. I would love a story of our old world." 

Milla chuckled. Maira was growing fast and never missed an opportunity to show it. She was now almost a young lady. 

"All right then." Milla went to the old arm chair and sat down. "I have one."

The children sat on the rug. Maira at first had crossed her legs just like her younger brother but then remembered she was supposed to sit like a lady. 

As they settled down, Milla started.

"I was very young when it happened but I remember it well. I was wearing the dress I had spent weeks sewing." Milla smiled. "It was yellow and entirely embroidered."

"It was a sunny afternoon so I went out to walk in the vast green fields and pick some flowers." Milla looked down at the children. They looked up at her with eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"When it started to get dark, I looked up to the sky, wondering why the night had come so soon. That's when I gasped at the sight. It was not the night that had darkened the field. It was in fact the shadow of a wraith ship so enormous that it covered the entire valley! My heart jumped in panic as I saw it spilling out hundreds of smaller ships, all ready to start culling." 

Elro gasped. "You saw it?" 

Milla closed her eyes, the sight clear in her mind. "Yes, Elro, I saw it. Right before my eyes."

"I didn't have much time. I was near the ring, but I couldn't leave without my family. I turned to the village and run. I run so fast I could barely see the trees pass. It all went by in a blur and my memory is still vivid to the sounds the ships made. It was like the sound of a thousand bees buzzing inside my head. They cast a beam of light on the ground and everyone that crossed its path just disappeared and was taken inside its belly." Milla opened her eyes.

"People were screaming. The village was in complete hysteria. Entire houses came down from the explosions of the wraith's weapons." Milla paused, closing her eyes.

"I was crying. I had stepped over my dress and it was torn and dirty and I could barely see anything past the tears. I bumped into almost everyone that ran in those streets with only one thought in mind. I needed to get my little brother and sister."

Milla looked down at her grandchildren. "They were no older than you are now." She sighed.

"My house was still one of the ones left standing. My heart squeezed as I ran inside, calling out their names at the top of my lungs. I looked into every room but got no response."

Milla sat back on her chair. "Finally, I heard their weeping coming from the last room of the house. I went inside and dropped to my needs, sighting them under the bed, huddled together and crying. They crawled towards me and I never hugged them so hard in my life."

"We had to make it to the shelters. I held each of their hands and ran outside, right in the middle of all the chaos and panic. I followed the flow of the crowd, but everyone was pushing and bumping. My little sister let go of my hand, the mass of people going to one side and she to the other. I gripped my brother's hand hard and pushed past arms, elbows and shoulders until she was within reach again."

Milla closed her eyes. "We got shoved aside and in my rush to keep them both safe from the mob, I slipped into a small alley to hide and check if they were all right. I didn't know what to do. If I returned to the main street, my brother and sister would surely be squashed!"

"I don't know how long we waited there, crouched and shaking. Just when the people started to clear and I decided to continue our way, a huge wraith appeared right before us, an ugly mask covering the face and long white hairs flowing behind. I backed against the wall, my brother and sister tucked behind me."

"Just when I thought all hope was gone, a stranger dressed in black came from the shadows and shot at it in long bursts of fire until it dropped dead. I fell to my knees and the next thing I remember is being taken inside a beautiful skyship from the Ancestors along with several others from the village." 

"The strangers saved hundreds of our people from our old world that day."

Milla opened her eyes. The children stood there wide eyed, absorbing the story.

"Who was the one that saved you, grandma? Do you know his name? Was it Colonel Sheppard? Or Ronon? Or Teyla?" Elro burst into questions. 

Chuckling, Milla stood. "I don't know, Elro." 

"Time for bed, children," Oreo came in.

"But dad…" they started but didn't go far into the argument.

As the children left, Milla started blowing out all the candles. 

She regretted not learning the secret savior's name. She remembered a few details, but the alley had been dark and most of his features remained a mystery. 

Maybe it had been one of Elro's heroes. She was grateful to the mysterious stranger but in the end one more thank you wouldn't make a difference to the people that had changed the fate of the galaxy.

**End**


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